Rage
by QTR
Summary: Sara goes over the edge with a domestic violence case. Later, the man who Sara has thought was put away for good, goes after her for revenge. Rated T for violence and language. Not a slash story. Finished...
1. Pushed to the Edge

It was a normal day at the Las Vegas crime lab. Grissom drove his SUV to the lab and got out, locking the car up. He walked into the building after being greeted by a guard and walked to the break room. There, he found Sara, Catherine, Nick, and Warrick all sitting on chairs and the couches, reading or talking to one another while sipping a cup of coffee.

"Hey Griss," Nick said. "Coffee's fresh, want some?" "No thanks," Grissom replied. "Alright, Nick and Warrick, you're going to be working with me. We have a 419 in down at the Tangiers." He adjusted his glasses as he spoke and handed the file to Nick. "Sara, Catherine, you have a 419 of your own. Down in the suburbs. Have fun," he said handing the file to Catherine. Sara nodded standing up. Catherine read the file and then said to Sara, "I'll meet you at the car." Sara walked out. Catherine had something she had to discuss with Grissom.

Nick and Warrick left to get ready for their case and Catherine sighed as she walked up to Grissom. "Gil…" "I know, Catherine," he said not giving her a chance to speak. "Gil, you remember what happened last time you put Sara on a case like this," she started. The case was a suspected domestic-abuse case against the husband of a now deceased wife. "Cath, I talked with Sara, remember? She got help. I trust her, and so should you." And with that Grissom walked off, leaving Catherine alone in the break room.

Catherine sighed as she walked to the black SUV and got in the driver's side of the car. "Hey," Sara said getting in and closing the door. "Everything, okay?" she said. "Yeah," Catherine said acting completely normal. "Everything's fine," she said and started the car. They headed for the crime scene.

When they arrived, Sara grabbed her kit, as did Catherine, and they both walked into the house where everything had happened. "Wow," Catherine said stepping in while putting on a pair of latex gloves. "This place looks like a war-zone." The house was destroyed. Vases were knocked off tables; picture frames were shattered on the ground. And, to top it all off there was a huge bloodstain all over the living room wall. Sara put her gloves on and walked in.

"So, what do we have?" Catherine asked talking to Brass. "Well, the victim's name was Renee Wilston. Her husband, Tony, claims he went golfing while she was killed. Apparently, she was stabbed to death. We didn't find any weapon," he said. "Thanks," Catherine said. "Where's the husband?" she asked. "Other there," Brass replied pointing to the husband, who was shaking and biting his nails. "Thanks," she said again and walked over to him.

Sara tested the blood on the walls and it came back human. She took a sample of it and then put a black fiber in a bundle. She stood up and walked through the rest of the crime scene. "I just…I went golfing. I said I would be gone for an hour," Tony said to Catherine. "I locked the door when I left, kissed her goodbye…" his voice broke. "And I left." "Sir, can I look at your hands?" Catherine asked. "Why, am I a suspect?" he asked nervously. "It's just procedure," she said. Tony held his hands out and Catherine swabbed the tops and bottoms of them. She tested for blood and her swab turned pink. "Sara," she said and Sara came over to her. "Look," she said showing her the pink swab. "Huh, that's interesting," she said giving the man a glare.

"I checked to see if she was alive when I got back," he blurted out quickly, looking at Sara and then at Catherine. "Sir…did you change clothes when you got home?" Catherine asked. "Yeah, after I got blood on them. Why?" he said. "We're going to need to see those clothes," Sara said. "Um…okay, they're in my room," he said pointing to a bedroom at the end of the hallway. Sara went and retrieved the clothes and bagged them.  
Sara and Catherine later returned to the lab. Sara was in DNA with Greg, getting the blood tested to see if it matched the victim's. Catherine was in the autopsy of the victim.

"Well, she was a fighter, she didn't go down easily," Doctor Robbins started showing the defense marks on Renee's wrists. "I wouldn't go down easily either," Catherine said. "Anything distinctive?" "Not really," he said. "The weapon was a smooth edged object. Wounds were deep," he said. "She has a laceration to her head." "I'm guessing she was knocked out and then bled out," Catherine said. "Well, that'd be my guess," he said. "I did find this, though. It was on the body," he said handing something in a silver dish to Catherine. "A black fiber…" she said looking at it. "Thanks, doc," she said and walked out.

Sara had gotten the DNA results. The blood on the husband's hands and clothes were a match to his wife's DNA. "How's it going?" Catherine asked Sara walking in. "Blood on Tony's hands and clothes are a match to Renee's DNA," Sara said. "I found a black fiber a the crime scene. Could be from a jacket or a blanket." "Yeah, Doc Robbins found the same thing on our Vic," Catherine said showing her the fiber. "So, whoever killed her was…wearing a black sweater?" "Looks that way," Sara said. "I'm going to go check out the husband's alibi, see if he went to the golf course yesterday at the time of her death, 2-3 pm," Sara said getting up. "See ya," Catherine said. Catherine was surprised at how good Sara was taking the case. Maybe Grissom was right.

Sara drove up to the golf course and got out of her car. She walked into a building and went to the front desk. "Hello, I'm Sara Sidle with the Las Vegas crime lab. I'm investigating a possible murder, could I check out your credit card receipts?" she asked. "Uh, sure," said the man at the front. He moved out of the way so she could see the receipts on the computers. She scanned it for the name 'Tony Wilston'. No hit. "Did a man named Tony Wilston come by here yesterday around 2-3 pm?" Sara asked. He looks like this," she said holding up a copy of his driver's license picture. "Oh, Tony? No, not between two or three, but he did come in yesterday. He came in at about five o'clock," the man said. "Thank you," Sara said walking out. She drove back to the lab.

"Catherine!" she said running into the lab. "The husband was at the golf course yesterday, but at five o'clock," she said. "So…he's lying…let's call Brass, have him bring him in," she said.

In the interrogation room, Sara and Brass sat across the table from Tony Wilston. His lawyer sat next to him, staring at them both. "Nice sweater," Brass started, looking at the black sweater he was wearing. "So, Mr. Wilston claims to have been at the golf course yesterday between 2 and 3 pm," Brass said. "I checked with the golf course and they said you were there. But you went at five o'clock, you weren't there between the times you said you were," she said. "So, where were you while your wife was killed?" Brass asked.

"I…went for a walk," he said nervously. "We found a bloody knife in your room under the comforter," Brass said. "Guess what? The blood on it was a match to your wife's and whose fingerprints did we find on it? None other than yours," Brass said. "You see, you have a record for prior domestic abuse charges and so your prints were on file," he continued. Tony was speechless. "So, what happened? Your wife pissed you off, so you killed her, or you just felt like it?" Brass said.

"I didn't kill Renee!" he said. "Stop lying!" Sara stormed standing up. "All the evidence we have collected points to you!" she said. "Get out of my face, bitch!" he said standing up and pushing Sara away from him. "Officer," Brass started. The officer grabbed Tony and handcuffed him and led him out the room. Sara glared at him as he left. Catherine was watching from the other room and sighed as she walked into the room.

"Sara, can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked Sara and led her out into the break room. "Sara…" she started sighing. "Are you okay?" she asked her. "No, as a matter of fact," Sara said, clearly angry. "Sara, I think you should take some time off, go talk to Grissom about it," Catherine started. "I'm okay!" Sara said. "I know you've been watching me like a hawk over the past few days we've been on this case, Catherine. You talked to Grissom, didn't you? You never trusted I'd be okay to work this case from the start!" Sara said. "No, that's not it!" Catherine said.

"I'm just concerned!" Catherine told her. "Yeah, sure you are!" Sara said. "That's your way of saying, 'I think you're crazy', isn't it?" Sara said angrily. "No!" Catherine persisted. "I don't think that at all!" she said. "Yeah, sure you don't. That's why you talked to Grissom," Sara said and left. Catherine sighed and sat down on the couch in the break room holding her head in her hands. Sara pulled out of the parking lot in her SUV and left the lab, heading for her apartment.  
Ecklie walked towards Grissom's office in the late evening. "Gil…I need to talk to you," he said walking in and closing the door. He sighed as he sat down. "Gil, you need to fire Sara," he said simply. "Look, Conrad, I'll take care of it. But I'm not going to fire one of my best criminalists," he said. "Gil…I told you- she's a loose cannon with a gun," he continued. "She's giving this lab a bad name. She can't just keep going crazy like this in every case she works on."

Grissom took off his glasses. "She's not going crazy," Grissom said. "I'll talk with her. But I am not firing her," he said. Ecklie sighed. "Fine, do what you want," he said getting up and walking out. "But you're explaining this to everyone," he said and walked out. Grissom sighed as he thought about what Catherine had told her about Sara in the interrogation room and afterwards. He put his glasses down and lowered his head. "Sara…" he murmured.


	2. Life and Death

The lab was unusually quiet that day. Warrick, Catherine, and Nick were working on a case together. Sara had the week off. Grissom had talked with her already about the run-in with Catherine. Grissom was in his office as usual, but this time his office was silent and he had no papers on his desk. He just sat with his glasses folded up in front of him, thinking.

"Catherine!" Nick said running out of the DNA lab and running into Ballistics. "The blood on Ray's hands was a match to the Vic's!" he said excitedly. "Yeah? Well, get this- the bullets in Ray's gun was a match to the bullets found at the crime scene and that Doc Robbins found in the Vic," she said. "Great!" Warrick said walking in. "Then I guess we have him. Heh, lawyering up won't help against this," he chuckled. "Okay, go call Brass and tell him to bring the guy in," Catherine told Nick. "Right," he said and walked off. "Cath, can I talk to you for a sec?" Warrick asked Catherine and led her into the locker room.

"Is everything okay?" he asked her. "Um…yeah, why?" Catherine blinked. "Well, ever since that argument with Sara you've been acting kind of…strange," he said looking for the right words. Catherine sighed. "It's that obvious?" Catherine said putting a hand to her head. "I…I'm just kind of worried about her, y'know?" she said sighing again. "Well, she's crossed the line with you twice now," Warrick said. "But I understand how you feel," he told her. "Thanks, Warrick, I…I think I'm going to take some time off, wind down a bit," she said. "Can you and Nick handle the case?" "Yeah. Get some rest, Cath," Warrick said putting a hand on her shoulder and then walking off.

Catherine walked into Grissom's office. "Grissom, I wanted to talk to you," she said walking into his office. "You want some time off?" he said without looking up. "Well…yes, but how-" "I just assumed," he said looking up at her. "Could I get some?" she asked. "Yes, go ahead," he said. "You can have the rest of the week off," he said. "Warrick and Nick'll take the cases this week," he told her. "Um…thanks," she said and walked out. Grissom watched her go.

Sara was sitting in her apartment flipping through a magazine while taking occasional sips from an open beer bottle. She sighed as she put the magazine down and turned on her television. "Today an inmate from the state prison broke out of his cell and escaped from the facility," said a news anchorman. "Here is a picture of the said escapee. If anyone in the area sees this man, please contact the LVPD immediately." The picture shown up on the screen was a picture of Tony Wilston, the man Sara had just helped put away. "Dammit," Sara said angrily. 

Sara walked out of her apartment and took a deep breath, getting fresh air. She sighed as she closed her eyes and rested her head against the door of her apartment. She went back into her apartment and closed the door.

Grissom closed his office door and locked it as he headed out for the night. He got into his SUV and drove off. The next week, everyone was back at the lab- Nick, Warrick, Grissom, and Catherine, but someone was missing, and that person was Sara. "Grissom, where's Sara?" Catherine asked him in the break room as he was giving out assignments. "I don't know, I tried her home phone and her cell, but I got no answer," he said. "Is she still angry?" Nick said sipping some coffee. "Nah, that's not like Sara. She doesn't hold grudges," Warrick said. "I'm sure it's nothing," Grissom told Catherine. "Anyways, Catherine, you've got a 419 in Henderson. Warrick, go with her. Nick, you and I have a 419 at the Tangiers," Grissom said. "The Tangiers? Again?" he said. "Wow, remind me to never book a room there," he chuckled as he grabbed the file and flipped through it. Catherine and Warrick walked into the locker room to get ready for their case.

"Cath," Warrick said going through his locker. "Yeah?" Catherine said turning to face him. "You're worried about Sara, aren't you?" he asked her. "Yes…" Catherine admitted. "And I think Grissom is too," she said. "Listen, Warrick…could you work this case for a while? I'm going to go see Sara," Catherine told him. "Yeah, sure, Cath," he said closing his locker. "Thanks," she said and walked out. She got into her car and drove to Sara's apartment. She knocked on her door. No answer.

"Sara?" Catherine said knocking on the door again. No answer still. "Sara? Please, I want to talk to you," Catherine said. She sighed as she turned to leave. She saw a car in the parking lot. It was Tony Wilston's car, the man she had just worked a case on. Catherine thought for a minute and drew her gun. "If anyone's in there, I'm coming in, and I'm armed," Catherine said getting ready to shoot the lock on the door. "You better not!" said a voice from inside. "Tony? Tony Wilston?" Catherine said. "What are you doing here?" she said holding her gun in front of her. "I've got your little friend in here, so don't even think of coming in here!" he said.

"Sara? Sara, are you in there?" Catherine said, lowering her gun. "Catherine? Catherine, is that you?" came Sara's voice. "Hang on, Sara!" Catherine said and shot the lock on the door. She threw the door open. Inside, Tony was holding a knife to Sara's throat. "Don't move!" Tony said pushing the blade closer to Sara's throat. "Okay, okay, just calm down," Catherine said. "Put the gun down!" he said. "Okay, okay, I'm putting it down," she said dropping the gun onto the floor. She moved a little closer to them. "Don't move!" he said again holding the blade against Sara's throat now. "Don't do it," Catherine said. "This bitch put me in jail!" he said angrily.

"Actually, you put yourself in jail," Catherine said. "Shut up!" Tony said holding the knife closer to her throat. "Okay, okay," she said. "Just…don't hurt her," Catherine said backing up. Catherine ran to her SUV, knowing she had to hurry. She picked up her cell phone, watching Sara's apartment the whole time. "Grissom? Yeah, it's Catherine. Hurry and get over to Sara's apartment, she's in trouble. Call 9-1-1," she and hung up. She ran back to Sara's apartment building. Tony and Sara were still where they were to begin with, the knife still pressed against Sara's throat.

"Grissom…hurry," Catherine thought to herself. "Don't come in!" Tony said to Catherine. "I'm not, I'm just standing right…here," Catherine said backing up. They remained this way for several minutes, silent, just staring at each other. Sara didn't make a sound; she just stood looking at Catherine. Soon, sirens were heard and cops and ambulances were parked outside the apartment building. Grissom ran out of his Denali and near Catherine. "Catherine! Are you okay?" he asked her. "Yeah! But he's got Sara in there and he's got a knife!" Catherine said, still looking at Sara. Grissom stood by her side now. "Tony! Tony Wilston! Come out where we can see you and put the knife down!" Brass said from a safe distance. Soon, Tony was visible.

He held Sara in front of him with the knife still at her throat. "I'm not going back!" he said. "At least not until I make this bitch pay!" he said referring to Sara. "Alright, he's not cracking, let's move in. I want four officers in back of the building and three up front with me," Brass told the police. The police moved out.

Sara and Tony were still standing in the doorway of the apartment. Three hours passed, and nothing happened. The whole team was there now- Warrick was in back of the police next to Nick. Catherine and Grissom were in front, near the police. "Tony…" Grissom said stepping forward. "This isn't going to solve anything," Grissom said. "Don't move!" Tony said putting the knife in front of him now, pointing it at Grissom. "Don't move!" he said again. Sara saw her opportunity and elbowed him in the chest. He quickly slashed at Sara.

Sara fell to the ground and he moved to stab her. Brass shot him and he fell to the ground. The knife was still in his now lifeless hand. A pool of blood surrounded his body and Sara got up and moved over to everyone. Catherine walked over to Sara. "Sara, are you alright?" she said quickly. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay," she said. Grissom noticed her bleeding arm from behind Catherine. "Catherine, take her to the ambulance so they can fix up her arm," Grissom told her, knowing Catherine wanted to see Sara.

"Right. Come on, Sara," Catherine said leading her away from the crowd of bystanders and policemen. Sara got her arm bandaged and Catherine and Sara now sat in the back of the ambulance facing each other. "Catherine…I…I'm sorry for the other day when I…" Sara didn't finish. "Don't worry about it," Catherine said. Sara smiled. "Thanks…" "Don't mention it," Catherine said smiling back at her and then standing up and walking off. Sara watched her go and smiled a little bigger as she watched. Grissom watched Catherine and then turned his attention to Sara, and smiled as he walked off. Sara would remember this forever. If Catherine hadn't of come, she might've been killed.


	3. Not Over Yet

It had been three months since the scare with Tony Wilston. Sara has tried to move on, but she couldn't get the haunting memories out of her mind. Catherine and Grissom were being extremely supportive during this time, as were Nick and Warrick. And of course, we cannot forget little old Greggo.

Sara hadn't been sleeping much of these past days because of the nightmares that came along with the experience. What if they hadn't come and she had been killed? And also, she wasn't sure this wasn't all over for good. She tried to act as normal as possible around everyone at all times.

At this moment, Sara was in her Denali driving herself to the lab. She was ridiculously exhausted, but she didn't show it. She parked and got out of her car. She heard footsteps behind her and she turned around, frightened. "Relax, Sara, it's just me," Catherine said putting on hand on her shoulder. Sara sighed, trying to relax. "Sorry, it's just ever since that day…" Sara began. "I don't blame you. You look exhausted. Have you been sleeping?" Catherine asked her. "Oh, uh me? Of course," she lied. "Okay," Catherine said sensing the lie and walked into the lab. Sara watched her go and took a moment to calm down before entering the lab.

"There's little miss sunshine now!" Nick chuckled as Sara made her way to the break room and went straight for the coffee. "Don't start that up again," she muttered. "Someone's grumpy," Warrick said walking in. Sara gave him a look. Warrick backed off. Catherine laughed a little as she watched them. Sara sat down stirring her coffee when she noticed Grissom had not come in yet. "Where's Grissom?" she asked taking a sip. "Oh, I don't know, but I'm sure he's coming soon," Nick said.

As soon as Nick said it, Grissom walked in. "Sorry, Ecklie…was being…" "Ecklie?" Nick finished for Grissom. "…Yeah," Grissom said and took out some files. "So, Nick and Warrick, you're going to take Greg with you on this 419 at the Tangiers," he said. "Damn! Another one!" Nick exclaimed taking the file. "Catherine, Sara, you're with me. We've got a 419 downtown," he said handing Sara the folder. Sara took it and flipped through it, still sleepy. She blinked a few times and read through it.

"See ya guys, " Warrick said as he and Nick walked off. Greg walked out of the lab with them happily. Catherine read through the file Sara was reading. "…Gang-related shooting?" Catherine asked. "Looks that way," Grissom said. Sara sighed. "Great, let's go," she said getting up. "Just what this town needs, another gang," she muttered heading for the locker room. Catherine followed her and Grissom gathered up the papers as he headed for his office.

Sara went through her locker looking for something. Catherine noticed she was having difficulty. "Sara, you need some help?" she asked opening her own locker. "Oh, uh, no, I'm okay," she said as she continued to go through her things. Something fell out of her locker. It was a huge book. "War and Peace?" Catherine said reading the title. "I've been flipping through it," Sara said putting it back in the locker. "How far are you?" Catherine asked her. "Page…952," Sara replied casually. "And…you've been reading it how long?" Catherine asked curiously. "Saturday makes…three days," she answered closing up the locker and putting her bag over her shoulder. She walked out. Catherine was stunned.

"T-T-THREE DAYS?" Catherine said to herself. She gasped in amusement at the thought and then followed out of the room.

When Catherine, Sara, and Grissom got to the crime scene, they all grabbed their kits. "So, bullet-shot victim," Brass told Grissom. "Through and through. The guy worked at a mini-mart, don't know why anyone would wanna kill him," Brass continued. "Crime of opportunity, maybe," Catherine said leaning down towards the body. Sara put on some gloves and noticed something sticking out of the shirt pocket. It was paper. "Huh, I found something," she said taking it out carefully. She opened it up. After reading the note, Sara's eyes widened. "C-Catherine?" she said, clearly a little more the frightened. "What is it?" Catherine asked walking over to her. She read the note.

_"Tony is dead, but we are not. We are going to make those two pay. CSI Willows and CSI Sidle…watch your backs…you never know when we could be right behind you."_

Catherine's eyes widened as well and she jumped as she heard someone behind her. "What'd you guys find?" Grissom asked. He noticed Catherine jumped and then saw the note. He grabbed it, wearing his gloves. He read it and looked at both of them. "All right, this is what we're going to do…" and with that, Grissom gave Catherine and Sara their instructions.

TBC…


	4. Taken

Catherine and Sara were sitting in the Denali, heading back to the lab. "Tony's dead, who else could still hold a grudge?" Sara said, more than a little freaked out. "I'm not sure…he was in jail, maybe he had some friends who got out before him," Catherine added as she turned a corner. Sara shuddered at the thought. "Okay, Grissom said to go back to the lab since there are people there. They're less likely to try to find us there," Catherine said. Sara nodded.

They parked in front of the lab and waited a minute before unlocking the car doors. Sara got out first, followed by Catherine. They stepped out and closed their doors. They quickly turned around to see Warrick, Nick, and Greg behind them. Sara and Catherine both jumped. "Jesus!" Catherine said panting. "God, guys!" she said still trying to catch her breath. "Sorry," they all said at different times. "Why are you guys so tense?" Warrick asked. "Um…no reason," Sara said and they both headed into the lab. They went to the locker room.

"Okay, we can't let Warrick, Nick, or Greg know what's happening," Catherine told Sara. "I know, but what are we supposed to do if those guys find us?" Sara said opening her locker. "I don't know…" Catherine said opening up hers as well. Sara sighed as she put her bag inside and closed it. "Hopefully, Grissom will be back soon," she said. Catherine didn't reply. "Uh…Sara…" she said pointing to something inside her locker. It was on the door. It was another note.

"Think you're safe inside the lab? Think again. We'll strike any time, anywhere. So be on your toes."

"Dammit," Sara said resting her head against a locker. "We're not safe anywhere." "Just stay calm…" Catherine told her. "Maybe…maybe Grissom will have another plan." Sara and Catherine headed to the break room and sat down, each shaking at the thought that they weren't safe anywhere. Catherine had fallen asleep and she later woke up to see that Sara wasn't in the room any longer. "Sara?" she looked up to see no one. She walked around the lab and she didn't see her. Then, she worked up the courage to go outside, and she saw Sara sitting on the sidewalk.

"Sara, what are you doing outside?" Catherine asked her. "I need to get some fresh air. I felt like I was suffocating in that lab…" she said looking at the ground. Catherine knelt down beside her. "Sara…you know what I'm going to say…" she said sighing. "I know…I'll come in soon," Sara said. Catherine sat next to her. "So, are you still afraid?" she asked her. "…Of course," Sara said looking at her. Catherine smiled. "Me too," she admitted. "I've never been this scared since Eddie's car went off the side of the road and Linds was still in it," she said looking down. Sara looked at her and then turned away. At least she knew she wasn't the only one frightened.

Sara began to say something, but she suddenly felt really tired and the whole world turned black. The same with Catherine happened.

Grissom came back later, stepping out of his Denali. He walked inside the lab carrying numerous evidence bags and set them down in his office. He then went to look for Sara and Catherine. "Sara? Catherine?" he said looking around for them. There was no trace of them in the break room or the locker room. He went into Ballistics to see Warrick, Greg, and Nick inside, comparing bullet fragments. "Have you guys seen Sara and Catherine?" he asked them, more urgency in his voice. "Um…not for about three hours, why?" Nick said looking up from a microscope. Grissom disappeared.

_"Damn, damn, damn, damn…"_ he thought to himself. _"I should've come with them. Now they're gone and we have no idea where they are…"_ he thought as he walked into his office. He noticed something on his computer screen as he sat down. There was flashing text that kept getting bigger and bigger every time it flashed again.

**WE HAVE THEM.**

**WE HAVE THEM.**

**WE HAVE THEM.**

Grissom was now in a state of panic. Nick, Warrick, and Greg walked into his office. "Hey Griss, can you phone Brass and see if he can get us a warrant to search this guy's house?" Nick asked him. Grissom didn't say anything. They walked over to him. "Um…Grissom?" Greg asked moving closer to him. They looked at his computer screen. "Grissom…what's this about?" Warrick asked, looking at him.

TBC… 


	5. Missing

Warrick, Nick, and Greg now knew what the matter was. They paced around outside to look for evidence. "The Denali they took is still here," Grissom said. "Okay…" he looked around some more and he then spotted something on the sidewalk. He kneeled down and picked it up carefully with tweezers. "…Leather…looks like part of a shoe," he said putting it in a bindle. "Catherine was wearing heels, right?" Nick said to Warrick. "Yeah, I remember now, she was." "Okay, this could possibly be the last place they were before they were kidnapped," Grissom said standing up. "Hey!" Greg said motioning for them to come over to him.

"Tire treads," he said pointing to them. Nick took pictures of them. "Okay…they end about six inches east…" Warrick said looking at them. "So, guys were in a hurry, and it looks like they went east."

It was dark. Catherine sat up with a throbbing pain in her head. She moved to rub her head, but she found that her arms and legs were tied tightly behind her. She looked around, and as soon as her eyes got used to the dark, she noticed another figure lying next to her. "Sara?" she said trying to move closer to her. "Sara?" she said again. The figure lying next to her made a move.

"Agh…jeez, where are we?" Sara said sitting up. "I don't know, it's too dark to tell, and I don't hear any on-coming traffic," Catherine told her. Sara's wrists and ankles were burning from the ropes tied around them. "Let's just hope Grissom and the rest come soon."

Grissom was in the lab, looking at the piece of leather from the shoe they had found. "Mr. Grissom, there's a package for you at the front desk," came the voice of the secretary and he followed her. He saw the package and it clearly said, "GUESS WHO?" in big font. He took it wearing his gloves and set it down in his office. Inside, was a paper. He read it.

_"Time is running out. If you don't find them soon, we will kill them, and believe me when I say we will not be merciful."_

Grissom crumbled up the paper slightly as he read it and slammed it fist against the wall. Warrick and the rest came in to see what made the ruckus.

Sara moved around to try to get in a more comfortable position. "These ropes are killing me," Sara said to Catherine. "Good, then perhaps we won't have to," came a voice in front of them. The lights flickered on. They looked around to see that they were in an old run-down building, in what seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. "Tell us why you're doing this," Catherine said looking up at the four figures.

"Well, you see, when Tony was in jail he spotted us and told us he had a deal. When we left, he said he was breaking out of jail that night. He said he'd make sure we each got $500,000 if he didn't succeed in killing that brunette over there," one of them said pointing to Sara. "And that it would be our payment for finishing the job." "Why do you have Catherine too?" Sara said, confused. "Because he told us he hates women like you two," another said. Sara gave Catherine a look and they turned and walked out of sight, turning off the lights.

Grissom dusted the note for prints and got four unknown prints. He ran them through AFIS. He actually got a hit. "Gregory…Thompson?" he said reading the name. "Arrested for…drug dealing, sentence to five years," he said as he continued to read. "Released three days ago." He stood up and walked out. He jumped into his Denali after phoning Brass and headed for his address.

When Grissom and Brass got there, accompanied by other officers, they ran to the front door. "Las Vegas police! Open up!" Brass said outside the door. He nodded and another officer kicked down the door. They looked inside the building. It was empty.

"DAMMIT!" Grissom yelled angrily as he saw another note.

_"Hello, Mr. Grissom. Having trouble finding us? Well, we're somewhere out of sight in the city, but we are in Las Vegas. Follow the notes."_

Grissom sighed as he read it. He walked out and headed back to the lab.

Sara and Catherine were still in the dark. From outside the room, the four figures were talking to one another. "Okay, I think we gave him the message," one of them said smiling as they watched Grissom drive away. They kicked the door where Sara and Catherine were and held up two syringes. They injected both into Sara and Catherine and first nothing happened, but then they felt a horrible pain in their chests and stomachs. "That's enough for now," they said and walked out, leaving them in the dark with unbearable pain.


	6. Bullet and Snake Bite

Sara and Catherine had dealt with the pain, and it soon went away. The people came back into the room. "Well…it seems you two both have stronger immune systems than we had hoped," one of them said kneeling down between them. "Do, this is what we're going to do…" he said looking at both of them. "Tony requested that the blonde be killed quickly…" he said looking at Catherine and then turning to look at Sara. "And that the brunette be killed nice and slowly…" he said with a slight grin.

Grissom hadn't been sleeping. There was too much on his mind for sleep. He had gotten another note that morning.

"If their immune systems are strong enough to deal with what we have dished out now, we will kill them another way. Willows will die quickly. Sidle will die slowly…"

Grissom was worried about the welfare of both of them, now. They had no leads. The address that was thrown out was to no avail. He sighed as he lowered his head in his hands. Warrick, Nick, and Greg walked into the room. "Grissom," started Nick. "One of the notes said that they were out of sight," he said. "So, that got us thinking," he continued.

"Out of sight…that could mean that it's in the middle of nowhere, in an old warehouse maybe," Warrick said. "Yeah, and these guys seem pretty crafty," Greg went on. "Old warehouse?" Grissom said looking up. "There's gotta be tons of those in Vegas," he said sighing. "Yes…but look at the paper they used to write the notes," Nick said handing him the piece of paper. "Wilston Industries…" Grissom read aloud. "That's right next to that address we had!" he exclaimed standing up. "Come on, call Brass! We're going right now!" he said running out of the room.

One of the men held a gun and a knife in his hands. "How'd you like to go, sweetheart? Bullet to the head or…" he didn't finish. "You get the idea." Catherine was shaking now more than ever. She didn't want to die. Not now, not here. She wanted to see Lindsey grow up; she wanted to live her life! One of the men whispered something to the other. "Okay…we have decided to make you watch us kill the other one, so…" he dropped the weapons. "Let's begin, shall we?"

Now, Sara was the one shaking even more. She was when they looked like they were about to kill Catherine, but now she felt nauseous and woozy. "Bring it out," one of them said. Another came into the room holding a small box. They opened it up and moved out of the way. Sara didn't know what was about to happen, until she heard hissing. Sara had read about this snake before. It was an inland taipan. These snakes were only found in Australia!

"H-How did you get that snake?" she asked, beads of sweat dripping down her face. "We have our ways," one of them said. The snake moved closer and closer to her, until it sunk its teeth into her flesh. "Just a matter of time now," one of them said watching. Sara felt excruciating pain. She read about how one bite from one of these snakes could leave the victim with vomiting, convulsions, or even in a coma. "You're sick," Catherine said looking at them. They just smiled and put the snake back in the box. They then shot Catherine in the shoulder.

"Hmm…I guess you'll both die slowly…" one of them started. "But one of you will die first, and it'll be you," he said looking at Catherine. Sara threw up in a corner behind her, shaking as the poisonous venom spread throughout her body.

Grissom and the rest arrived at the building, drawing their weapons. "Las Vegas police! It's all over now, fellas!" Brass said kicking down the door.

TBC… 


	7. Still Not Over

The men responsible for the whole ordeal hold up their guns and shot themselves. They all fall over, dead. Brass sighs as he and the officers run inside. Sara is motionless, except for the times she has to force herself up to get sick on the floor. Catherine was holding her shoulder. Luckily, it wasn't bleeding very severely, but the bullet had still gotten her pretty good. "Sara, I'm sorry about this whole thing," Catherine said looking at her. "No, it's okay…this wasn't your fau-AGH!" this was all Sara could muster before getting sick again. "…Fault," she finished panting.

Within days, Catherine was treated. She was still taking it easy, but she was doing a lot better. Sara on the other hand, wasn't as fortunate. Since the snake had been from Australia, they had to import the right treatments. When she was finally treated, she didn't wake up for a few days. Everyone was in fear that she had fallen into a coma, but on the third day she finally woke up.

Grissom wasn't so sure that it _still_ wasn't over. Why would the kidnappers just kill themselves in the end if they were getting money? He then remembered one thing…

There were three bodies on the floor, not including the motionless Sara or injured Catherine. Four people were responsible…so where was the other one?

An autopsy revealed that Gregory Thompson, James Nickerson, and Brad Fremont were the bodies they had found at the scene. So, that meant one unknown man was still on the loose. And he had gotten away…

Grissom walked into the break room pouring a cup of coffee. The secretary's voice startled him. "Mr. Grissom, there's a letter for you at the front desk." Oh no, Grissom could see where this whole thing was leading.

Grissom walked slowly to the front desk and took the letter with a gloved hand. It was entitled, **'MR.GRISSOM'** in a big, bolding text. He swallowed hard before opening it.

_"Bravo, Mr. Grissom, bravo- kudos to you and your team for figuring us out. However, you have only found three of us…so, good luck Mr. Grissom on finding me."_

Grissom sighed as he walked back to his office setting the letter on his desk. Sara and Catherine had been through enough, and one man behind the whole thing was still loose! He was angry…at the man, the world, but mainly with himself.

This will be continued in a future fic!


End file.
